PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Swampscott’s Harry Riddell, right, rounds third base and heads for home during a win over Nahant on Tuesday.
BY SCOT COOPER
LYNN — The Swampscott Little League all-stars were buoyed by a fast start Tuesday night at Pine Hill’s Chris Spagnoli Field.
Swampscott scored three runs in the first, and three more in the second on the way to knocking out Nahant, 8-4, to earn a trip back to Spagnoli Field Thursday for the district final against Peabody West (5:45).
Swampscott starter Matt McIntire survived through the first inning, allowing three singles, but stranding all three, giving his mates a clean slate against Nahant starter Billy Conigliaro.
Conigliaro made Swampscott’s Connor Correnti swing and miss at three curveballs. But Nate Marston, the No. 2 hitter, wasn’t fooled, and he put Conigliaro’s seventh offering among the spectators outside the center-field fence, and Swampscott was off, hitting and running.
McIntire followed Marston’s smash with a double, and then Conigliaro walked Dylan Dubiel.
Both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Nate DeRoche got the first of his three hits, and the first two of his three RBI, and it was 3-0 Swampscott after one.
Swampscott manager Steve Correnti said that Marston’s blast changed the game.
“He (Conigliaro) was really pitching well with the off-speed stuff, then Nate smacked one out, and that changed the game in our favor,” Correnti said. “He had to start throwing fastballs, and we are a very good fastball hitting team.”
Swampscott doubled its lead in the bottom of the second. One hit, two walks and two errors got Pierce Friedman, Correnti and Marston home and it was 6-0 after two.
The runs kept coming when Marston drove in Harry Riddell, who walked to start the third, and the lead was up to 7-0, halfway through the game.
Nahant finally busted through against McIntire with a run in the visitors’ half of the fourth. Jake Desmaris singled and scooted home on an opposite field base hit by Brian McKinnon.
Swampscott got its final run in the bottom of the fourth when Riddell singled in DeRoche, on board with a single, to up the score to 8-1.
Trying to mount a comeback, Aidan Graciale singled to start the Nahant fifth, and he walked in on a double by Conigliaro, who then went to third on the throw to the plate. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Drew Botta.
Colby Godwin, who is only 10, shut down Swampscott in the fifth, giving his team a chance for a miracle finish. Things started off well in the top of the sixth when Max Gadon greeted reliever Dalton Juden with a blast over the fence in right-center, making it 8-4. Juden shook that homer off and closed out the game, sending Swampscott into the final.
Correnti said he hopes his team can come out fast against Peabody West’s Chris Faraca, who no-hit them over 5 2/3 innings last week.
“Hopefully we can get on him early, make him work, get some hits, it’s up to us to have a good start,” Correnti said. “We’ve won three straight elimination games, we want to keep it going.”
Nahant manager Adolph Graciale said he was disappointed with the results Tuesday night, but not with the effort from his team in the Swampscott game, or in the entire tournament.
“It’s tough, we’re down right now, these kids will bounce back, you can’t get behind a good team early like we did tonight,” Graciale said. “The kids battled back, they played hard, we just dug too big a hole too early against a good Swampscott team.”
Should Swampscott solve Faraca Thursday, the “if necessary” game is Friday at a site to be determined.
